This one goes over the top in many ways. The howler was the suggestion that the Bride can go without flowers and and be 'creative' by carrying a fairy wand or a fly swatter.

Yes, they actually suggested a fly swatter.

How's that a substantial economy? Unless it ties with the theme somehow (doubts it for the fly swatter but hey..), if it's about being thrifty, go with wildflowers, or a non-wedding bouquet (since I guess the "wedding" part of the name makes it wayyyy more expensive). And just a fairy wand? I'd feel empty handed, I'd rather carry gloves in my hand* than one something.

*There's a family joke/play on words in there about my parent's wedding, my grandmother giving my father some gloves, saying it's to give him composture (contenance in french, same word as volume) and him replying that "yeah, 6 or 7 onces". I've heard that grandma was not amused

Most women I know would cringe at the suggestion of using a fairy wand instead of a bouquet. Personally, even if it were a well-crafted, beautiful wand, I would feel like I was 5 years old if I did that.

I've been to many open-bar events, weddings and other social events, some of them with hundreds of people in attendance. I've yet to see anyone get sloshing drunk on the "free booze". I'm sure it does happen! Just saying I've never seen it. So I gotta wonder if the people going overboard on imbibing are ones who are just not able to control their alcohol consumption and the prospect of gratuitous liquor is just too tempting to pass up.

If the open bar is staffed by professional bartenders, no one should be getting sloshed period. This was a concern at my wedding (I have some over-imbibers in my family). We hired friends who run a restaurant bar and they had all sorts of tips and tricks for making sure no one went overboard. Those included not giving out shots of alcohol, mixing drinks a bit weaker if the person ordering them showed signs of intoxication, and looking out for people bringing extra drinks to guests who'd already had too much. We had open bar for 4 hours and not a single person was obviously/obnoxiously drunk (which is seriously a small miracle in my family).

Of course, we found out later that my uncle nabbed an entire case of champagne to bring back on the party bus and I'm sure THAT got messy. But it wasn't our problem . And I wasn't mad because he made half our desserts and a $35 case of champagne was more than a fair trade .

This one goes over the top in many ways. The howler was the suggestion that the Bride can go without flowers and and be 'creative' by carrying a fairy wand or a fly swatter.

Yes, they actually suggested a fly swatter.

How's that a substantial economy? Unless it ties with the theme somehow (doubts it for the fly swatter but hey..), if it's about being thrifty, go with wildflowers, or a non-wedding bouquet (since I guess the "wedding" part of the name makes it wayyyy more expensive). And just a fairy wand? I'd feel empty handed, I'd rather carry gloves in my hand* than one something.

*There's a family joke/play on words in there about my parent's wedding, my grandmother giving my father some gloves, saying it's to give him composture (contenance in french, same word as volume) and him replying that "yeah, 6 or 7 onces". I've heard that grandma was not amused

Most women I know would cringe at the suggestion of using a fairy wand instead of a bouquet. Personally, even if it were a well-crafted, beautiful wand, I would feel like I was 5 years old if I did that.

I didn't have a flower bouquet - I had chocolate covered strawberries and the chocolate was in the colours that matched my dress. I don't know if it saved a whole lot of money - it was perhaps a little cheaper than a 'bridal' flower bouquet, but at least we all got to eat it after the ceremony instead of watching it die and throwing it in the bin .

A fairy wand....not for me but I've seen those gypsy weddings on TV where the bride carried a wand.A fly swatter....not for me.....it's a bit puzzling, I'd love to know who came up with that suggestion!

I may be totally wrong but if you have the personality to walk-down the aisle with a fairy wand , I don't think you're the type of person who needed approval or the suggestion to do it. I don't think the suggestions were helpful for a person wanting a cheaper alternative to a traditional bouquet. (they did suggest picking flowers that was helpful) But they missed so many actual good suggestions ....http://www.pinterest.com/ecopartygoddess/eco-chic-alternatives-to-cut-flower-bouquets/OK some of those would cost 5xs what a bouquet would but there are some neat ideas in there that would be inexpensive.

UK here. I've been to a lot of weddings in my life, and none had free drinks. Where I'm from, it's considered the norm to have a "cash bar". Meals or buffet are included, but not drinks. Apart from the one glass of sparkling wine/champagne for the toast.

UK here. I've been to a lot of weddings in my life, and none had free drinks. Where I'm from, it's considered the norm to have a "cash bar". Meals or buffet are included, but not drinks. Apart from the one glass of sparkling wine/champagne for the toast.

I have worked in the hotel industry for 13 or so years and in big nameless chains and boutique hotels and honestly cash bars are about 50% of the weddings. Fall down drunks at about 90%.

UK here. I've been to a lot of weddings in my life, and none had free drinks. Where I'm from, it's considered the norm to have a "cash bar". Meals or buffet are included, but not drinks. Apart from the one glass of sparkling wine/champagne for the toast.

I have worked in the hotel industry for 13 or so years and in big nameless chains and boutique hotels and honestly cash bars are about 50% of the weddings. Fall down drunks at about 90%.

Wow, I must live in a really different part of the country. I've never been to a wedding either with a cash bar or with falling down drunks. Guess I have been really lucky! Hope my luck continues for a few months until my own wedding.

We ended up having a cash bar on accident. We had decided against it due to the cost - the country club charged for their bartender's time and a purchase minimum. Instead, we bought wine for everyone to have (we also have some alcoholics in the family of the beer drinking variety so that helped with that.)Then in the middle of my reception I are one of my friends with a martini. Huh? Turns out the bartender decided to stick around after a previous event. Oh well! Not something I'm going to lose sleep over. In fact, 15 years later, we still have people - both our age and my parents' age - say our reception was one of the most fun there been to. So I guess they weren't appalled by our "rudeness" either.

Edited to add: and there weren't any obnoxious drunks. In fact, the person most obviously tipsy was out old school band leader. But that's another story.

« Last Edit: March 02, 2014, 09:50:26 AM by Eeep! »

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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

The last wedding I went to had an open bar until 10pm and then a cash bar for the rest of the night. Best of both worlds I think - the drinks were covered for most of the night, but if anyone wanted to keep going after the unofficial finishing time, they were able to. I believe soda was free all night.

It is really interesting reading over time about the different customs/expectations when it comes to weddings and receptions. Where I am from, the invitations were a formality. Everyone knew the details and everyone showed up at the church (if you wanted to attend). Receptions were in the hall attached to the church and were held immediately following the wedding, as in walk from the sanctuary into the hall. Receptions were cake, mints, nuts, maybe some other nibble, and punch (non-alcoholic since we were in a church), water, coffee. The reception usually lasted about 1.5 to 2 hours. So, the whole affair, including wedding, reception and send-off lasted maybe 2.5 to 3 hours, tops. Three hours would have been long.

UK here. I've been to a lot of weddings in my life, and none had free drinks. Where I'm from, it's considered the norm to have a "cash bar". Meals or buffet are included, but not drinks. Apart from the one glass of sparkling wine/champagne for the toast.

How odd. Is that just for weddings, or for any hosted event? If you are invited to someone's home, do they expect you to stop by a liquor store ahead of time and bring your own booze? Or do they hire a bartender for the evening who brings her own cash register?